View full sizeA young Boston Bruins fan raises his arms to be checked on the way into TD Garden prior to a Bruins NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Boston, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in the aftermath of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings.AP | Elise Amendola

BOSTON - It was a night of mixed emotions at TD Garden Wednesday as the Boston Bruins hosted the Buffalo Sabres, and an atmosphere that was a bit eerie to start, but later felt inspirational.

It was the city’s first major sporting event since the horrific Boston Marathon bombings that claimed the three lives: 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, 29-year-old Medford native Krystle Campbell, and a Boston University graduate student identified by The Shenyang Evening News, a state-run Chinese newspaper, as Lu Lingzi. More than 170 were injured.

A high security presence was immediately felt with members of the National Guard and transit police patrolling the area.

A sea of Black and Gold flooded inside and outside the Garden waiting to make its way up the escalators to the concourse to be screened.

Cars that parked underneath in the Garden garage were searched by police. Fans, including children, were scanned by metal detector wands.

Media and workers were also forced to go through a higher security check.

Tim Moore, 54, and his son Kevin, 13, drove all the way from Portland, Maine, to attend the game. Tim said they had the tickets for weeks and it was their first Bruins game ever.

“I wasn’t worried at all,” Tim said about the security. “Boston’s probably the safest city in America after Monday with all the law enforcement here.”

He said his son wasn’t afraid. “He’s 13. He’s not scared of anything.”

It appeared the sentiment was shared as a capacity crowd of 17,565 was on hand for a special pregame ceremony to commemorate those lost and affected by the bombings.

A deafening cheer greeted the Bruins as they hit the ice and persisted throughout the contest.

Numerous American flags were spotted as well as signs reading “B strong,” with the Bruins spoked-B logo, and “Boston Strong.”

“Let’s go Boston,” and “we are Boston,” chants were heard.

Prior to the anthem, scenes from Monday’s events were shown on the Garden HDX, followed by a moment of silence.

The Boston Athletic Association’s colors of blue and yellow illuminated the two dashers, which displayed TheOneFundBoston.org web address. Bruins staff and Garden workers wore the ribbon, which was also featured on the ice.

Bruins anthem singer Rene Rancourt led the sellout crowd in singing the National
Anthem.

“It was very moving,” said Tim Moore, who admitted he cried. “The fact that Rene Rancourt let the crowd sing the National Anthem was very cool.”

During a game break, fans were asked to stand if they ran in Monday’s Boston Marathon, and a loud eruption followed when they were shown on the Jumbotron.

Volunteers, family members and friends supporting the runners were also asked to stand and were greeted with the same response.

During the second period, there was a special “8-Spoked Salute” honoring the first responders, including state and city police and firefighters.

The “8-Spoked Salute” is a tradition at Bruins home games, which honors men and women of the Armed Forces.